May 5, 2010

When comparing the culture of India to today’s American culture, there seems to be a great deal of differences, but a few similarities seem to show through as well. Both countries are highly populated, but the varying cultures between the two carry a great affect on the social status of the country overall. Seeing the prominent differences will give a clear view of what causes problems for the Indian culture.

India, the second most populated, is a very culturally diverse country. There are the Aryans in the northern part, and the Dravidians in the southern part. Numerous types and variations of languages are spoken their country, including Hindi, which is mainly spoken in the north, and another major language being English. Their constitution recognizes a list of fifteen regional languages spoken throughout the country.

The Indian economy is divided into two separate countries, the first mentioned being village India. Village residents get most of their economic aid from farming and agriculture. Their main crops of productions are rice, wheat, pulses, sugarcane, and corn. Cotton, tobacco, oilseeds, and jutes are the main non food crops. Sadly, in this part of the country, tens of millions of Indians live below the poverty level. The second type of Indian country economy, Urban India, is mostly consists of industrialization.

Numerous differences between the United States and India are visible in relation to both their people and economy. Indians speak numerous languages; where as in the United States, the overall percentage of Americans speak only a one or a few select languages as their main language, not near the fifteen recognized languages of India. The previous statement can also be a similarity between the two cultures, in which they both speak different language along with speaking English.

The education system in India is a system that is mainly based on government funding. This means that each area of India is monitored by their literacy rate. The literacy rate is extremely higher in the urban population than the struggling village population. The literacy is also higher among men that it is among women. Every ten years the literary population of India increase by 10 percent. This, in turn, means that over 50 percent of Indians are literate. Their state governments allow free schooling while going to primary school, but not all Indians students have an opportunity to attend primary school. The smaller the government funding, the less money is made readily available for their students. Schools in India range having schools without buildings, to schools that have completely technologically advanced facilities. In 1997, India had 219 colleges or institutions at the university level. The education in India can be compared to school in the United States in various ways. First, Americans school are paid for with tax dollars and most schools are along the same level, where as in India school range from the amount of money that is received, not how much money is being paid for by their citizens. In America there are also numerous more colleges and universities ranging from community colleges to technical schools, as well as four year universities.

Gender roles in India are dramatically changing, with cases of Indian women being deprived of their power, economic development, and social uplifting. Nearly 60 percent of Indian women are married before they reach the age of 16, nearly 75 percent of Indians mothers are below the age of 18, and 30 percent of Indian children are employed before the age of 10. Gender roles for women in the United States in different in many ways from the roles that accompany the culture of Indian women. Children in the United States cannot start working until they reach the age of sixteen. Another differences between cultures is that women in the United States are rarely ever married before the age of sixteen, and the percentage of American women who are married before age of 18 is drastically lower than the marriage rate in India.

The heritage that accompanies the citizens of India can be described in numerous ways. There are numerous temples that are located throughout the country of India, and they have their own designs involved with each temple, even though all temples have certain basic fundamentals that follow Hinduism. The music that is found in Indian culture can be described as North Indian or Hindustani, and South Indian or Carnatic music. These types of music are certain types of folk music. In the United States there are vast varieties of music that are enjoyed by Americans. Alternative, country, folk, rap, and instrumental are just some of the variations of music that is enjoyed by Americans.

Variations ranging from the spoken languages, types of popular music listened to, or the drastic differences in the educational systems of the cultures of India and the United States can be seen through the facts stated above. Many of the variations are not to the benefit of India’s culture. India’s high population, as well as the severe division of social classes, proves to be detrimental to the society as a whole when compared to the similar aspects of American culture. Seeing the comparisons gives a clear view on how a culture can affect the well-being of an entire country.